


The Adventurers Anthology

by Finock



Series: Tower of Armintire: The Adventurers Anthology [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dark Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Homebrew Content, Other, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27677674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finock/pseuds/Finock
Summary: The Tower of Armintire, a mysterious tower named after the continent it stole. Now it stands grimly and alone in the center of the former Vos Isellic Empire; no one knows where the continent's buildings, homes, and people went all they know is that in its place the Tower stands. Adventurers far and wide enter the tower for glory, fame, and riches only to realize that entering the tower traps them within its walls and removes their memories. Now, among the myriad of adventurers, scholars, and explorers, only 8 have explored the highest and deadliest reaches of the tower - but this is not their story, this is the story of all those around them. Welcome to the Adventurers Anthology.This collection of short stories is inspired from a D&D campaign that I run and my friends play. The characters in these pages are based off of my players' and my own D&D characters as well as the people they're related to.
Series: Tower of Armintire: The Adventurers Anthology [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2024029
Kudos: 1





	1. A Day in the Life of a Simple Bodyguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eloy Grantz was never a smart fellow and certainly not as intelligent as his ward, the noble scion of House Obligore: Tremme Obligore. For years and years and years Eloy protected the young noble through a variety of trials and tribulations to help her in her quests for dusty old books, ancient magical secrets, and long lost artifacts of interest. Until one day they were separated and Tremme had to fend for herself alone in the Tower of Armintire. Now Tremme is stronger and surrounded by equally strong and capable people. When you're a simple bodyguard what do you do when the person, you are charged to protect, becomes more powerful and capable than you are?

**A Day in the Life of a Simple Bodyguard**

* * *

Eloy opened his eyes to that one sliver of light that keeps getting onto his face every morning, he stretches to the rhythmic noise of chirping birds, barking dogs, and footsteps on hard wood outside of their house. Once again he puts on a shirt, a pair of trousers, and headed out of his room yawning and stretching as the scent of morning dew, polished metal, and burnt charcoal lapsed his nostrils. His groggy eyes filled with the sight of left over clothes on the sofa, maps and charting tools sprawled about the table, armor and weapons haphazardly arranged by the armory, doors left ajar that creaked open and closed, and soft morning light inching into the room from the window as particles danced betwixt its waves.

“Good morning.” He said in a yawn.

He called out into the living room only to be met with the usual silence followed by a rough low greeting coming from the thing that pretended to be their front door – they had already left.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Lahkee the mimic asked “You know they’re going to be gone like shit down a river.”

“Well one of us has to be polite and properly greet people.”

“Hey! I greet people!” Lahkee grumbled. “Yesterday a few kids playing in front of the house!”

“And?”

“I _politely_ said _hello_ and asked them _politely_ if the wanted to play with me.”

“And?” Eloy asked again, giving the door a firm and judging stare.

“They ran away screaming! The nerve of children these days, I was being polite and everything!”

“I’m sure you were.”

After that pleasant talk, Eloy did so as he always did in these morning: make breakfast and then start baking. Tremme’s muffins won’t make them themselves. Every time she and their friends come back from a long, and horribly traumatizing experience, Tremme would have already run out of muffins – she’d always hand them to people who she thought needed it and often found her stock short when she needed it herself. Eloy whipped himself up a quick breakfast of toast, sausages, eggs, an apple, and a tall glass of orange juice before sitting down and reading as he ate. The library in Lycea had contributed much to providing the various cities with a single source of knowledge. Math, sciences, philosophy, medicine, and other text that were thought to be lost forever when the Tower of Armintire arose and pierced the heavens with its odious presence.

But Eloy found more entertainment in the fictive books of comedy, romance, and perhaps even erotica that he found whilst perusing the busy streets and narrow alleyways of La Risque and he had a funny devil named Lucius to thank for that. Would he tell his charge of these suggestive and often times hilarious low brow literature? Maybe, but also maybe not.

Full on food and humors Eloy washed his dishes and cleaned the table to a spotless sheen before taking out the necessary pots and pans one uses to bake his choice sweets. He then set up his work station to an arrangement that suited his sense on sense of order and organized accordingly, flipping and weaving the pans, bowls, and utensils to a skillful degree as he did so. He then took out the ingredients needed to make another batch of muffins but stopped when he reached over the shelf and felt that a certain rectangular shape was missing from his grasp. No butter left unfortunately. Must have used it all the other day when he and Tremme made a batch, it is easy to lose track of things when one is having fun. After that Eloy made notice of all things he needed to restock in the house, he reached into a sack of flour and found his hand touching hard wood.

 _“Butter and Flour”_ he jotted down on a small notepad he had purchased from a miserly Tiefling’s shop a few days ago. He said this notepad would never run out of paper, but failed to mention that ink would disappear from its pages in only a few weeks.

“Might as well look for anything else this house needs before they all come back.” Eloy mused to himself to fill the silence of the room and so he went, scouring each room thoroughly. First going into Elian’s room, while it’s not exactly messy it’s not exactly put together either, if he had to put it into words perhaps an organized chaos? Regardless this room has been left a lot more spacious and a lot easier to clean ever since Dantioch left. While Dantioch left with most of his things he had left Elian with some items to remember him by. His trident and shield hung together on a wall opposite the bed, his well-worn helmet sat on a shelf above the desk, and on the desk can be seen letters from Dantioch to Elian; he felt delighted that they can still manage to write to each other. The question of how Elian receives these messages however is a mystery to Eloy. He recalls his riding bouts with Dantioch, how he would give Eloy tips and pointers as well as a few neat circus; he did miss his energetic personality despite the fact that Eloy could only understand half of what triton said, it was a lot less lonely in the house then. As his thoughts wandered he noticed Elian had a very well-loved whetstone and so Eloy writes it down on his pad “ _whetstone_ ”. Perusing through his room Eloy couldn’t help but notice Elian’s myriad of tools, not only were there thieves’ tools that hung on a board above the desk but there were also plenty of tools befitting and entertainer like himself. Not to mention that Elian had a sizable lockbox with a strong lock. Elian was an impressive person, he thought, he came from such humble and tragic beginnings to an esteemed and intelligent adventurer while never forgetting where he started at.

“Hmm I don’t know exactly what these tools are for” Eloy thought to himself “But I might as well get him some more lock picks while I’m out.”

“ _Thieves’ Tools_ ” Eloy writes.

Next was Willahelm’s room, it was a room you’d expect from a war veteran such as him, the room was orderly, neat, and organized in such a way that could only be described as _Military Discipline._ Willahelm kept his impressive arsenal racked on the armory in well order, his old armors hung on a rack neatly and are kept clean and rust free, while his shields decorated the walls of his room. While the Willahelm had no use for some of these things he seems to keep them about as a sort of memento, a reminder of how well they had treated him in combat. Being a soldier himself Eloy knew of such habits, he used to be just as meticulous and organized before, but seems like his life here has made him just a little complacent. Of course his training sessions with Raela and Quillan were extraordinarily helpful with keeping him sharp but it wasn’t the same as being in the thick of things, constantly aware, constantly fighting. Perhaps another time, he thought, as he looked around for anything Willahelm would need when he comes back he notices that Willahelm had quite an interesting hobby. He had left on the desk a set of Jeweler’s tools, he had been in the process of making a trinket before adventure called once again. Whatever it was that he was making Eloy couldn’t figure out whether it was a bracelet or a necklace due to its unfinished state, he would keep this to himself for now since he did not know if Willahelm was open about this hobby or kept it to himself. But he will do him a favor and get him a few more gems to tinker around with, he was sure Willahelm would appreciate it.

“ _Affordable Gemstones_ ” Eloy writes on his list.

Ada’s room was amazingly well kept and didn’t have much in terms of material possessions, she only had what was necessary to her and nothing else. He knew that the old hero had a habit of being naked and “one with nature” so it stems to reason that she didn’t have a closet full of clothes, just a rack with a few choice outfits, while there was only few of them they were either of exceptional quality or forgettable mundane. There was nothing in between. Similar to Willahelm, Ada kept her room tidy, organized, and militaristically maintained. However unlike Willahelm with much of his space dedicated to articles of war and combat Ada had altars and holy symbols that decorated her room. But another thing of note was that Ada had plenty of plants that she grew outside of her window giving this aura of peace and tranquility. Often times Eloy wondered if he should bow or pray before entering. However, unlike the other times Eloy had entered her room he did see something of note when looking for whatever she could need upon her return. He noticed in cupboard above her desk that she kept articles of clothing that she made herself, however it seems to have been collecting dust and that it’s been ignored for some time. It had a note on it: _To Radagast_ it read.

“Must be someone important.” Eloy thought and realized what he could get Ada upon her return. “ _Yarns, Wool, and a new set of Weaver’s Tools_ ”

Up into the second floor of their tree house the first room Eloy inspects is Sylobin’s room. Like all the other times that Eloy has entered this room he only had one thought in mind. Motivating. Sylobin was an active man, constantly on the never ending journey of self-improvement. While Eloy himself doesn’t know much about the wrestler he knew enough by simply looking at the room he lived in. Sylobin’s room was filled with tools that helped him maintain his physique, his strength, and his mind. While weights, stones, and other fitness implements were standard for the man known as Shattered Glass he also kept a few things that indicated that he was more than just a strong man.

Sylobin had a well-loved chess board in his room. He remembers how noisy this room gets when Tremme and Willahelm get heated over Sylobin’s dragonchess skills. They would play late into the night and would only stop when the two nobles got tired of losing or after they win occasionally. Entering Sylobin’s room always sparked a fire in Eloy, he felt he too needed to stop being a lazy sack of potatoes and do a set of push ups. If there’s anything he knew about Sylobin is that he did not get his renowned strength overnight and that Eloy should also keep working on himself if he wanted to be strong enough to stand next to Tremme nowadays. As Eloy picked up a few things that were left on the floor of Sylobin’s room he noticed that he seems to have taken up more things to hone his mind. On his desk Sylobin had a few borrowed books on law, philosophy, the metaphysical, and oddly enough a book about Infernals.

Sylobin had not been the same ever since he and the others returned from what they called the _Astral_ _Plane_ which they had described to him as an infinite silver sea of stars and pools of color. He could not wrap his head around such a concept but he thought he would like to see it someday.

As he arranged Sylobin’s books he noticed that they would soon be overdue.

“Can’t have that” Eloy thought and wrote down on his notepad “ _Return Sylobin’s books_ ”.

After that Eloy moved over to Unakite’s room. Unakite was a picture of preparedness, she had in her room several maps of the different floors and locations of the tower. She had hand drawn most of these maps herself and made copies of them that she could keep at home in the event that she lose the copies she had on her person. She made a pin board that told her which floor connected where and notes on what were there and how they handled it. She also kept in her room a lockbox that had diamonds, health potions, and other things that could help her and her friends stay alive when they needed it. Whenever Eloy entered her room he always felt that Unakite truly cared for other people. This meticulous map charting, the backup tools, and the medicines all told him that she was a leader who watched out for everyone around her, despite how pragmatic she tries to sound sometimes. Unakite also kept many items that spoke to her personality. A notebook of animals she has seen on her travels, a few wind instruments that she plays from time to time, a few tinker tools that he father had given her, she was always proud of them Eloy thought, she would talk about how great of a toy maker her dad was and keep those tinker toys safe and cared for like the myriad of succulents in her room. The room always felt calming to enter, the smell of plants, parchment, and potions, a distinct smell but a kind one.

But despite how calming it felt it was a terrible mess and as tempted he was to clean for Unakite he knew he shouldn’t mess with her organization least she call upon him every minute to ask where he put this thing or that thing in. So he ignored it and looked around for anything Unakite might need and spotted that she might need to restock on cartography papers and inks.

“ _Map paper and Ink_ ” Eloy wrote down earnestly.

But regardless of how messy Unakite’s room was, Sicilia’s room was nothing short of a disaster. Upon entering the room he was met with sheets of paper that overflowed from the desk down to the floor, a bin overflowing with crumpled paper and pencil shavings, and an unkempt bed that was piled with books and clean clothes. She had been so very busy nowadays that she couldn’t even be bothered to hang or fold her clothes, she simply put them on her chair if she needed to sleep or moved them back to her bed if she needed to work. Sicilia had really taken her role as heir to the throne very seriously recently so she had been swamped with work constantly to the point where she would be locked in her room studying laws, economics, governance, Cadacan royal history, royal traditions, customs, and etiquette. Other times she would be there writing plans, addressing community concerns, analyzing the council’s thoughts, overlooking suggestions, considering different plans for the different city states, and dealing with a flying owl man that keeps asking her if she’s ready to be queen yet. Not as much recently though since Melfis is still recovering from his injuries and Sicilia is once again off with the party to explore the tower. Eloy had remembered a time when Sicilia’s room wasn’t like this before, how one could look down and see a floor. She had well cared for smith’s tools lovingly placed upon a shelf next to her bed, she had a smith’s apron that was marked with the stain of embers and oil hung on the opposite side of the wall, and she had written and drawn plans for sword and armor blacksmithing. While she still does have those around her room and that they’re still maintained with love no one can deny how much those stacks of papers dwarf the size of those items of interest. Eloy carefully looked around for what Sicilia could need but instead noticed how these drafts were already done and ready for the council to see. She had even placed them in an envelope with a note that said: _Send before Leaving!_ Seems like Sicilia worked overnight to finish these before heading off that day. Raela would appreciate having these dropped off at her house today, Eloy thought, and wrote the errand down on his notepad.

“ _Submit Sici’s work to Ms. Amari._ ”

But before he does that he has one more room to go to.

Tremme’s room was decently well kept, it would be better if she’d make a habit of putting her books back into her shelves when she finished reading them. Her room was simple, a bed, a closet full of clothes, an empty bird cage for Sylvie, and bookshelves, lots and lots of book shelves. There were shelves of books on the walls, the bedframe she slept on was also a book shelf, and Eloy knew that if she had more space in this room she would have more and more books to keep. If there’s one thing that stayed the same about Tremme it was her bibliophilism she had always loved books when she was young, often asking Eloy to take her on journeys for knowledge and no matter how much she has changed he was glad to know that some things don’t. Whether it was the libraries in Henson University, the hidden bookstores of Lycea, or riding out of town in search for more knowledge and spellcraft Eloy would be her stalwart guard to keep her safe as she satiated her ever curious mind. Eloy remembered how her parents would scold him for taking her to faraway places only to return in the dead of night. After finding out what Tremme found out about her parents he started doubting what was real or not about his childhood with Tremme. He stared blankly into the empty bird cage that glimmered silver against the yellow light of the morning and had one thought in his mind.

“Dear Tremme.” He could not grasp the complicated feelings he had for what his charge has experienced, what horrors she had faced while he disappeared, what she is facing now while he meanders here at home doing errands. He was proud of her strength, her tenacity, her will to do good deeds even at the face of such pain. He was proud of her but something gnawed at his chest whenever he thought about what she was doing and what he was doing.

Blinking away those thoughts Eloy went back to what he was supposed to do here. Looking around he spotted two things, a few cards that Cairt must have left when she visited before, a distinct lack of bird feed for Sylvie, and a notice from Henson University that her monthly wage was ready for pick up.

“ _Cards for Cairt, Food for Sylvie, and Money._ ”

Now done with his search Eloy gets ready to leave the house, placing Sylobin’s borrowed books and Sicilia’s envelope into a sizable saddlebag and placing Cairt cards and his notepad in his pocket. He then changes into his casual clothes and straps on a sword on his hip and a shield on his back.

“Alright Lahkee I’m going out to do some shopping and some errands you want anything?”

“Oh get me some of that beef jerky they sell in Vysistil!” the mimic’s eyes widened at the thought. “Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.”

“Oh come on man! You drool that you clean that!” Eloy slapped his forehead in bewilderment.

“Whatever tight trousers just get me my jerky!” Lahkee responded and opens the door urging Eloy to get a move on.

“I’ll show you a jerky-” Eloy whispered under his breath before he was cut off by a sudden “Boo!” From a familiar voice.

Eloy jumped back almost dropping his saddlebag at the surprise. It was their neighbor, Lucretcia Valtes.

“I had a feeling you’d be coming out at this time.” She said slyly with a short chuckle at the end. “What is it today my dear boy?”

“Oh just a few errands. I’ve got quite a day ahead of me, but why are you here?” Eloy asked.

“Well, unfortunately I made too much food again this morning. Still not used to making smaller portions you see.” She responded. “Perhaps your friends want some?”

“Oh.” Eloy said softly. Their short awkward silence affirming a sadness both of them don’t want to mention. “Well, I can it off your hands but everyone left this morning, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye!” Eloy said jokingly to relieve the tension.

“But I think Lahkee would enjoy this!” Eloy continued.

“Lahkee!” Lahkee shouted at the mention of his name.

“Ah yes, Lahkee would you like to have some extra I’ve cooked up?” Lucretcia said as she dangled the basked near his face.

“Would I!” Lahkee said gleefully as an elongated tongue lashed out at the basket eating it alongside the neatly packaged food that was inside of it.

“....Should have seen that one coming.” Lucretcia looked at the mimic was a mixture of disgust and bewilderment.

“Thanks but I guess I owe you another basket, huh?” Eloy replied to which Lucretcia responded that that wasn’t necessary.

“Oh before I go is Cairt around? How is she doing?” Eloy asked.

“She is doing-” Lucretcia said but was cut off but a loud sound that called his name out.

“Eloy!” Cairt repeated “Look at this sick eye patch a Redmane Pirate gave me!”

“-Fine.” Lucretcia finished.

“Wow that’s sick!” Eloy replied.

“I know right? Who knew one of those pirates knew how to sew like this huh? Guess I look like a pirate now don’t I!?”

“Yeah you do!” Eloy replied following her infectious energy. “Oh and before I forget, you left these in Tremme’s room.” Giving Cairt back her cards her remaining eye grew wide and she said.

“Ah! I was looking for these, thanks Eloy. I probably didn’t see them fall out of my pack. Alright, I’m off to do some stuff, catch ya later Eloy!”

With that she ran off down the stairs of the great tree house.

“What’s she up to so early in the morning?”

“She doesn’t try to let it get to her,” Lucretcia said “but she’s coping with it in her own way. She doesn’t want a repeat of what happened last time.”

“I don’t think any of us do really.” Eloy replied softly.

“Well don’t let this old lady stop you from having a good day.” Lucretcia replied. “Run along now, you’ve much to do yes?”

With a nod Eloy went down the stairs, attached the saddlebag to Shadowfaux and rode first to the nearby smith. As he rode the sound of people talking and laughing could be heard around him, he was glad that he found himself in such a peaceful place despite being in the Tower. People around him lived normal everyday lives doing work, school, and leisure as if they were simply living in a normal world. It was comforting. The path to the smith was full of vendors selling to passing adventurers, men and women casually conversing about simple things, and children running around with no care in the world. 

“Ah, Eloy my boy!” A gruff sounding half-orc woman bellowed a greeting as he entered the shop. “What can my fine hands do for you today?”

“Good day Andrea!” Eloy bellowed in earnest. “I’m looking for a new whetstone and a few lock picks”

“Lock picks, eh? Andrea said. “Elian out today?”

“Yep.” Eloy confirmed “I’m just doing a few errands for them.”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little face boy I have just the thing you need.” She then walks to the back of her shop and Eloy could hear the banging of wood on the floor and the sharp noises of metal on metal.

“Here you go.” She said as she walked back to the front desk. “A whetstone and my finest lock picks! I guarantee these picks won’t break at the slightest twitch but knowing that boy I’m sure he’s going to find some way to break them regardless.”

Eloy laughs with her and pays for the items before thanking her and leaving to head over to his next task. Taking the road down from their house Eloy makes a stop at Raela’s house. Here he sees her feeding their other horse, Bessie, and tending to her garden in the morning.

“Ms. Amari!” Eloy gleefully called to her.

“Well, well, well, someone’s out and about early.” She responded in kind “What brings you here today Mr. Grantz?”

“Um I think Sici was supposed to drop these off here before she left, but she must have forgotten.” Eloy said as he handed over Sicilia’s envelop of drafts. “I do hope they’re ready for reading.”

“Hmmm” Raela expressed as she skimmed over the work her daughter poured hours into. “Alright, this is good, tempted to say perfect even. Don’t tell her I said that, wouldn’t want her to get a big head ha! But I told her I didn’t need this now.”

“Huh?” Eloy made a confused look. “The way she was working on it looked like she needed it done ASAP.”

“This wasn’t due for a while and I told her that.” She furrowed her brow. “I swear that girl takes things way too seriously. When you see her tell her to lighten up a bit, I know we’re in a trans-dimensional hellscape but she needs to learn how to let down her hair sometimes.”

“I’m sure she just wants to make you proud ma’am.”

“Well she can do that without exhausting herself to near death! And you can tell her that too!” Raela continued and crossed her arms. “I swear it’s like she doesn’t know that we understand that she has priorities exploring the tower. I mean it’s practically their job!

Raela pondered for a second before adding “...Maybe we should start paying them for traveling the tower.” 

“I’ll make sure to relay that message, ma’am.” Eloy gave a strong salute jokingly.

“At ease soldier.” Raela laughed “But thank you I’m glad my daughter is surrounded by such warm and wonderful people; gods know I needed that when I was growing up.”

“At least you are now.” Eloy blurted out.

“Right you are boy.” Raela chuckled at the comment. “Now quit buttering me up and get back to what you’re doing. Oh and before I forget, have a good day sir.”

“You too ma’am.” Eloy said as he gives her a wide smile.

Next Eloy headed over to the nexus portal where there were usually long lines of people waiting to bridge the gap between there and where ever but fortunately for Eloy the last batch of departures had already went away, leaving him the sole patron of the portal. But Eloy was never fond of using these portals, it always made him feel sick to his stomach the way time and space bent for him to move, he describes it like you were getting spun around like a top only to come out upright in a freezing cold sea. Unfortunately for him there was no other way to get to where he needed to go, which was Henson University now. He was saving the heavy load for last, plus he could use a little bit of coin for Tremme’s muffin ingredients.

Traveling the nexus portal Eloy felt the ambient ether of mana shift around him as he entered its cold watery mist licked at his skin and it felt cold to the touch and in the blink of an eye he resurfaced in Lycea a little worse for wear but better than the last time, at least this time he didn’t fall off his horse and barf. Within seconds the ether around him returned to normal, fixing his point upon the soil of Lycea, but the same could not be said about the spinning feeling he had about his head but must away. Eloy shook his head and gave reassuring pets to Shadowfaux before continuing onward.

Lycea reminded him of – well the old Lycea, surrounded by many he believed to be smarter than him and he’s not exactly far off from the truth; as he passed by he could catch glimpses of conversations too broad or too abstract for him to understand. Often times he wondered if the words used in those sentences were actually common. But he didn’t mind it too much, because this felt like home to him. In the tower homesickness is a common feeling amongst its denizens and Eloy was fortunate enough to know that his home was here, unmoving and unchanged. At least to a degree.

Eloy continued onward to the university and tied his horse to the stable outside, inside was a beautiful reconstruction of the old university that he knew and loved. Students and teachers alike walked through out the campus with deep yawns and heavy eyes. The life of a researcher truly is one of many sleepless nights he thought. It has been a while since the University was rebuilt and many scholars and intellectuals in the Tower were ecstatic to hear it. Before they simply sat around and contributed little things to the communities. From medicinal aid to basic guidance, these scholars found themselves with very little to do since they weren’t exactly combat proficient. So the re-establishment of this building provided a much needed outlet for these academics to provide even greater knowledge to the community.

Eloy knew the layout of the place well enough to remember where the main office is without getting hopelessly lost, but without going to the library first and making sure to deposit the books Sylobin had borrowed from them a week ago. He thought Sylobin reading about devils was such a little strange but Eloy simply hand-waved it to newly developed interests.

After that little detour he soon found himself in front of the receptionist. Again.

“Ah Mr. Grantz,” Mr. Yu said “I surmise you are here to collect the due wages at the behest of your charge?”

“Um...Yes?” Eloy responded in a confused tone.

“Quite.” Mr. Yu said sternly “Wait here for but a moment whilst I fetch the ledger and coin, I shall return anon.”

Eloy simply sat, nodded, and waited for the receptionist to return.

“Here is Madam Obligore’s salary for the month.” Mr. Yu handed Eloy a small sack containing 50 platinum bars, but as Eloy’s hand grasped the sack Mr. Yu continued “Ah, but before you return will you pass on this letter from some of our most esteemed colleagues? It seems there are some choice academics who wish to remove censors upon the study of the profane arts. It is a discussion of the highest import, would you kindly inform her to reply at the earliest convenience.”

“Sure...”

“Good man.” Mr. Yu smiled. “Godspeed to you dear messenger.”

“I swear to the gods I got nothing out of that conversation.” Eloy whispered to himself as he went away. 

Next stop on his errands was Maelus’ Emporium in Laetus. Besides being the heaviest load there was another reason Eloy wanted to do this one last, which was the fact that he often finds it very hard to leave that shop without at least buying one thing that isn’t on the list. Maelus was a persuasive salesman and he knew he had to put his foot down and say no to whatever he peddles to him this day.

But fortunately for him Maelus was in fact not around. Instead Eloy met with Miu who was managing the shop in his place.

“Oh Eloy.” Miu greeted. “The usual I presume?”

“Yeah, but can you sell me some of the other things on here?” Eloy showed Miu his shopping list.

“Alright” She stood there mouthing the words as she read and jotted down everything she could find in the store for him before she continued. “I can get you the flour, the butter, the bird feed, the cartography stuff, and the weaver stuff but the gems might cost a pretty penny.”

“Oh I’m only really looking for cheap stuff for a hobby, not really the expensive ones.”

“Well cheapest I can get you is-” Miu’s words were cut off by a noise coming from her pocket, she picked it up hurriedly and gestured at Eloy to wait a moment.

“Uhuh? Okay, sure.” Miu spoke to a person he couldn’t hear. “Now! I’m dealing with someone here.” _It’s my boss_ she mouthed at him.

“Fine I’ll leave it to Bruce and Olive.” Miu said before ending her conversation. “Sorry about this buddy, boss is calling. I’ll see you around.”

With a quick twist of the ring on her finger a pillar of light formed around her slowly engulfing her body before disappearing into the ether for whatever nonsense Maelus had in store for her, leaving Eloy to deal with some uncomfortable company.

A hulking zombie of significant size and smell walked up to the counter and groaned approvingly at Eloy.

“Hi Bruce.” Eloy grimaced. “Did you get everything Miu mentioned earlier?”

Bruce grunted approvingly once again and held up a thumbs up.

“Great could you just get that for me please?” Eloy reached over to his ears in preparation. At that request Bruce shouted a might roar that shook the shelves of the store and chilled Eloy’s spine. Moments later Olive the banshee hovered over towards Eloy carrying bags of what he assumed to be everything he asked for.

“Umm. Thanks Olive.” Eloy said nervously.

“Naugh. Prawblehm. And. Zom.” She eerily whispered in his ear as she floated around him, gliding a hand to his face. Before Bruce makes another disapproving shout at the banshee, causing her to move away from him.

Bruce groaned apologetically.

“It’s ok Bruce, just punch me the numbers.”

Quickly enough Bruce wrote down on a piece of paper and haphazardly wrote down 60 gold.

“40!” Eloy exclaimed. “Isn’t that still a bit much?”

Bruce shrugged.

“I know, I know. I’m the one who asked for assorted gems. Fine here you go.” Eloy took out 4 platinum bars and Bruce makes a thankful sound before giving him his best version of _“Thank you for your patronage.”_ Which to Eloy’s ears was more painful groaning.

Stepping out of the store Eloy released a heavy sigh as he held on to the bags that carried his purchases. It wasn’t too long ago that Eloy had to suffer through the terrors of the undead in Nostrand and it would not be a surprise that he still harbored some misgivings about the walking dead, even if they are friendly ones.

It also doesn’t help that Olive clearly had a fancy for him. Perhaps having good looks is a curse, he thought.

“Someone’s having a good time” Said a familiar voice “The old lady tried to flirt with you again?”

Turning around to find the source he spots Lucius Lesendi alongside Elia Heimfray both of which looked a little bit worse for wear and smelled to high heaven.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Eloy said with little confidence while covering his nose. “So where have you two been? Seems like you had a rough one.”

“Well the lady over here dragged me along to fight a Froghemoth of all things!” Lucius belted out his complaints with some very animated hand gestures which threw slime all over the ground.

“Hey! How would I know that there would be one?” Elia stomped her feet and slammed her fists down, she wasn’t as covered in slime as Lucius but she still had quite a bit on her. “The quest board said Swamp Boggles. Boggles! Landing in a Froghemoth’s pond was your fault! And you’re welcome by the way!”

“Welcome for what?!” Lucius roared. “For letting it eat me!”

“For getting you out!” Elia corrected. “And for the record it wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t running around taking it to places where I couldn’t get a clear shot!”

“Well it seems like our problem is that we need a front liner!” Lucius crossed his arms.

“Agreed!” Elia also crossed her arms.

Both of them then gave Eloy strong side eye glances.

“I’ll come with you guys next time.” Eloy laughed a bit at their slapstick and before another word could be said all three of them heard an explosion not far from them with black smoke billowing out the door. It was the Powder Keg’s workshop

"We’ll leave you that one to you Eloy.” Elia said.

“Yep, we need a shower. I call shotgun!” Lucius replied.

“Fine.” Elia sighed.

Eloy ran towards the workshop and at the front is Agnus coughing away from the black smoke.

“You alright sir?” Eloy asked.

“Oh I’m fine dear,” Agnus replied “but Thrax won’t be by the time I’m finished with him!”

And with that he rushed back into the workshop and as the smoke clears, three people could be seen, Dannbrog (also known as ‘Danny’), Thrax, and Agnus. All of which were screaming at each other about converters this and fuel tanks that; many terms and phrases swung around that flew in one ear and out the other like a breeze going through a tunnel.

He had only seen Danny once or twice before and both times he had always looked as if the whole world fell upon his shoulders, as if he carried too many sins that no priest could ever dare to hear, and all who knew him in their time at the Eastern Front knew this about him. It was heart breaking. But recently there’s been a certain spark in his eye, even Eloy could see that as the old gnome argued and bantered with the goblin and the elf. Danny himself probably hasn’t noticed this shift in personality himself and it is only a matter of time before he realized this – thanks in no small part to Unakite herself for reuniting with her lost father. Perhaps family does serve to mend wounds, Eloy thought, and for a moment he wondered about Tremme and how right now she was like family to him; but did she feel the same?

Before he could ponder deeper the three mechanical geniuses looked to the lad and began calling to him.

“Hey boy!” Thrax began

“Oh! Do you guys need help?” Eloy asked with a heavy concern.

“Uh, what was your name again? Boy-toy?” Thrax asked “Yeah we could use your help, who do you think fucked up here huh?”

“I whole heartedly, positively, without a shadow of a doubt think-” Angus made an attempt to defend his case before he was cut off by another voice.

“Hold up right there long legs!” Danny interrupted. “I completely agree that this was Thrax’ fault-”

“Well I oughta~!” Thrax exclaimed and Danny continued.

“You made the bright idea of making the designs _elegant_ and _sleek_ ,” Danny mockingly gestured “when I specifically told you that the machinery would not be contained in such a small package!”

“Heh, that’s not the only small thing he’s packing.”

“And I told you, you pyromaniac” Danny shifted his attention to Thrax “That you made its engines far too strong for the core to handle and you turned it on anyway!”

“Now wait just a second!” Agnus interrupted “I gave you the necessary adjustments to make up for the size! You can’t blame me when you threw my suggestions away!”

“It wouldn’t have worked!”

“Just let the boy tell us who messed up and let’s get this over with.” Thrax, perhaps due to the stench of gas in his nose and smoke in his eyes, surprisingly became a slight voice of reason for this debacle.

“Um.” Eloy felt like he had swallowed a rock trying not to say the wrong things to these, normally, sane people. “Seems like you all had a hand in messing it up... whatever it is.”

There was an air of silence for but a moment but that was just the calm before the storm. A few seconds after they were back at it again and almost immediately forgot that Eloy was there in the first place. Thinking this was the perfect opportunity to not be involved in this anymore, Eloy slowly slinked out of the conversation. They seem to have it handled, he hoped.

With his errands done Eloy went home, but not before stopping by the Tavern for Lahkee’s jerky. Entering the house there was a stark quiet, an unsettling silence, but not an unfamiliar one. Eloy should have gotten used to coming back to a quiet house, after all he had been an adventurer, and lonely nights were a staple to the tumultuous life of a wandering freelancer. But something about this quiet felt, different, he didn’t know why.

“Eloy!” the low gruff voice of a familiar mimic companion blared at his ears. “Earth to Eloy!”

“What?” Eloy asked “Where are you? You’re not the door.”

“Yeah because you’re stepping on me.”

Looking down he noticed the welcome rug had the familiar sticky adhesive he’s known all too well as well as those eerie emerald eyes that gave away Lahkee’s intentions of feasting.

“Alright,” Eloy sighed “are you going to let me go any time soon?”

“Ah~” The rug opened its mouth.

With a slight smile on his face Eloy grabbed the Jerky and dropped it in Lahkee’s mouth and with that they slinked away as they ate, changing their form to that of a door once more, and then firmly latching themselves back onto the door freeing Eloy’s feet from the mimic’s adhesive skin.

“They’re still not back?” Eloy asked.

“Doubt they will be anytime soon.” Lahkee said with a mouthful.

“I figured.”

Eloy then went into each rooms one by one, leaving his respective gifts to his friends in their rooms. They would thank him later upon their return, he knew that, but the question truly was when? And so that gnawing sensation of loneliness came back, but why?

“I’ll be heading out again Lahkee.”

“Really?” Lahkee opened the door for him as he walked close. “But you just got here?”

“I, uh, think I need some fresh air.”

“Whatever.”

With that short exchange Eloy left, taking a walk through in afternoon sights of Cadacan. The sun’s golden rays turned orange as it fell over the horizon shifting the color of the sky from blue to purple. The color gently draped the greenery of the vibrant swamp with cascading shades of gold, orange, red, and black. The wind blew gently at his face as he arrived at a quiet cliff face that overlooked almost the entirety of Cadacan. The only sight he could not see was the lake behind the castle that Tremme had told him about before with the lusty water nymph.

Tremme, once again visited his thoughts, many of the stories she had told him were exciting, thrilling, but also worrying and concerning. But he knew she could handle herself now, he knew that she was far stronger that she herself even knew, he could see her growth, and often found himself proud of what she has become. But now he had realized it was not loneliness he had felt, not even worry, but something else he couldn’t put his finger on.

“Boo!” a voice quieted his thoughts and he jumped at the surprise. He looked behind to see who had surprised him and it was none other than Elia.

“You’re out so soon?” Eloy asked.

“Yeah why wouldn’t I be?” Elia replied.

“Well the last time you had something slimy on you, you spent almost spent half the day cleaning up.” Eloy said with a smile on his face.

“It wasn’t hard to get rid of this time at least.”

“Really? Nice clothes you got there by the way.”

“Thanks! I bought them earlier today.”

Eloy paused for a second and gave Elia a squint.

“Weren’t you out today on a quest with Lucius?”

“Uh...”

Before she could reply Eloy jumped at the imposter, tackling her to the ground. He knew that changelings had entered Cadacan before, the others had told him about this before.

“Who are you!?”

“Time out!” the woman gestured a T “Time out! It’s me, Gluck!”

“Gluck?!” Eloy asked as she turned her face back to that of her usual form. “What are you doing looking like Elia?”

“Oh just messing around, teasing boys and girls alike, giving them false hopes and what not.”

“You know someone’s going to kill you over this kind of thing someday.” He sighed and helped her back up on her feet.

“Well that’s if they find me.” She laughed at the mere thought. “What’s with you though? A little grumpy this evening are we?”

“I just have a lot on my mind right now.” Eloy said and sat back down.

“Well I’ve got some time to spare.” Gluck mused. “Tell me.”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore.” Eloy replied “I was Tremme’s bodyguard before and now I’m here. I don’t know what I’m feeling right now, I’m happy and all that she’s going out there and seeing the world, but I don’t feel right.”

“Sounds to me like you’re just sad you don’t have your old job anymore.” Gluck replied.

“Really?”

“I mean yeah, what kind of body guard are you now right?” Gluck said frankly. “That girl could probably tear through a squadron with ease and without needing to be protected. If anything you need her to be your body guard now!”

She laughed and slapped him on the back as she ended her sentence.

“I guess you’re right.” Eloy said solemnly. It wasn’t loneliness that he was feeling, not even jealousy, he had felt useless. For years he had been by her side as her aide, her guard, her defender, but now she had flown farther than he could follow. He could not contend with the likes of Dantioch, Willahelm, or even Chester, he had fallen behind while Tremme grew stronger in his absence. He had lost his purpose.

“Well what do I do now then? Be their butler? He asked Gluck who gave him a look that said _this really isn’t my problem_.

“Well I don’t know much about that,” she began “never had to worry about shit like that you know? But in times like these my brother would say something cryptic like: _Though the waters may flow far and wide, it is the earth and rocks around them that stay their course._ ”

“What the hell does that mean?” Eloy gave Gluck a puzzling look.

“I don’t fucking know man.” Gluck shrugged and returned his puzzled look. “Look, maybe you can protect her in other ways. Who fucking knows, all I know is I got more people to bamboozle, so see you around bucko.”

“Protect her in other ways huh?”

Eloy returned home after some time out. He cooked himself a nice meal for supper while the lamplight brightened the room contrasted by the dark living room. No sound could be heard save for the sizzling of the food, the soft flickers of fire, and the gentle snoring of a tired mimic. Eloy ate his meal whilst reading, filling himself once more on food and humor. The fireplace bathed the room in a gentle and somber warmth. This was to be his life now, a quiet life, a simple life. Tremme’s life had entered its next stage and Eloy had now realized that he had already played his role in her life. She and her companions have all experienced tragedies and triumphs that no one within the tower, or outside of it, could compare.

Tremme has changed now, for better and for worse, many of them have. Eloy himself has had such experiences before and he knew that people like him, like Tremme, and like his friends are guaranteed to live with a few demons; lives like theirs can change a person and the Tremme he knew was gone, only echoes of the past.

On the bright side Eloy knew what he must do now. He must make sure that no matter how much Tremme has changed, no matter how much the world may change around them, he would be there to be the one constant. A semblance of the past that would remind her of simpler times. This is how he would protect her now; the last bastion of familiarity in her ever changing world.

Eloy let the fire burn out and listened to the gentle whistling of tree leaves to lull him to sleep, the warmth left and the cold grew, but he slept soundly that night knowing that Tremme will come back. Later, tomorrow, the next day, perhaps even the next year, it didn’t matter she would come back and if he wanted to give her a warm welcome then he’s got a lot of baking to do.


	2. Minotaurum the Magnanimous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A powerful wizard, a showman like no other, a heart stealer and heart breaker - I present to you the one, the only, Minotaurum the Magnanimous!"  
> A fanfare of applause and praise is what Minotaurum knows best and what he feels the most comfortable around. In the rich and vibrant desert lands of Treasure's Peak Minotaurum is there to give the people a good show and has been for the passed 10 years. He's no longer sure he can keep his act up forever, but perhaps a small chance encounter is all he needs to find his ticket to paradise.
> 
> Join Minotarum on his quest to avoid the consequences of his actions within the mysterious and eldritch confines of the Tower of Armintire.

**Minotaurum the Magnanimous**

“And I bid you adieu my lovely fellows! And do come back to Minotaurum’s Emporium!” with a flamboyant flick of his wrist and a snap of his fingers he vanished into thin air, leaving a group of eight adventurers bewildered by their encounter.

As the curtains closed behind him and the masquerade he had performed ended he let out a sizable sigh of relief.

“I thought I’d lost my touch for a second there!” he said in a whisper as he caught his breath. “I’d fooled the more learned looking folk only to be caught by some savage brute! On the bright side I’ve now a new toy to add to my collection of tricks; as well as little extra.”

He then proceeded to his living quarters. It was a simple room, his clothes lie on the floor before him, his painfully simple clothes hanger sat in a corner keeping his overly theatric outfits in pristine condition, and a great chest with many of his props and tools sitting haphazardly inside. It was not the best living quarters but his profession certainly didn’t allow for staying in one place. He knew he would soon find himself needing a quick getaway and his latest haul might be the ticket out he needed.

Safe in the privacy of his own room he pulled up his rod and stared deeply into the crystal icosahedron. He looked intensely at it as flashes of color came in and out in quick succession; some he frowned upon as they came and others he smiled in anticipation.

“Come on, come on!” he said through gritted teeth. “Give me something valuable you useless stick!”

And just as he had insulted his rod of wonders the colors stopped at a fantastical chromatic display; the rod had stopped at a myriad of colors. “Never have I seen such a color before whilst using the infernal thing” he thought to himself, had he finally broken this magical item before he had pulled anything of value out of it? All that was left now was to twist the crystal open and see what he had received.

“A bloody key!?” He cried out loud in a mix of awe and disappointment.

“Are you alright in there sir?” His most talented assistant asked from over the counter.

“I am perfectly fine my dear Alice!” he answered “I, uh, seem to have lost my bloody keys! Confound it all!”

“Did you check beneath the pillows again?” she asked with a step in her voice as if this has happened time and time again.

“Ah there they are!” He pretended. “Truly Minotaurum the Magnificent would be lost without you my dear!”

She chuckled a bit at his response “Surely you jest dear sir, your arcane talents far exceed my own. I am the one who is lost without your guidance.”

“This may in fact be true, but no great man stands alone I always say!” he said “Have a bit more confidence in your own talents, for a true wizard never makes mistakes only opportunities!”

With his schadenfreude ended he deflated once more as he looked upon the odd key that was now in his possession. Of course he used the term key lightly as the protrusions and nonsensical twists and turns of it made it look more like some Avant-gardé paper weight than a key. The only defining trait it shared with a key was the key ring and its teeth. He admit to himself that he had no intention of using the rod upon the brute that dared to question his magnificence but his pride overcame his judgement and now he began regretting his actions. Among those eight almost everyone else had seemed to carry more value that the great sword wielding red head but he must now live with that decision.

Taking his small book of spells, he then proceeded to sluggishly and lazily draw a circle upon his desk with a chalk, he placed a pearl and an owl feather on opposite sides of the circle, before placing the odd key in the center of the circle. Chanting the familiar words that has passed his lips many times the circle began to gleam and glow as Minotaurum began to identify this strange key if it had any arcane or mystical properties.

But alas his spell failed, the pearl exploded from its place and the feather burnt to ashes and the embers faded into the hot air.

“Well that’s new.” He said out loud in shock. Normally the spell would simply identify the item as a mundane object; no magic, no strangeness, no extravagance, simply mundanity and if it was magical the spell would say so. Never in his life did he experience a simple first grade spell would explode on him. Perhaps there was more value to this key than he anticipated.

Things had gotten far more interesting, he thought.

Then his eyes widened and hurriedly began sifting through his things. Throughout his stay in Treasure’s Peak he had acquired many lockboxes with his rod of magnificence but unfortunately had never _procured_ the keys to each of them. Pulling up a small lockbox from his stash he slowly placed the grim key into the keyhole of the box.

As the key reached the keyhole it began to twist and turn in his grasp like liquid, changing its shape before fitting into the hole of the lockbox, he then twisted the key and unlocked it, revealing a valuable necklace inside.

He pulled the key out and placed the box down gently.

Then he proceeded to jump with joy; he marched around his room in glee and sang of his magnificence so loudly that passers-by minding their own business would have heard his unique vocals.

Alice knocked on his door and pardoned herself to enter.

“Sir what is happening? What’s gotten into you now?” she asked gleefully as she watched him dance with an almost childlike happiness.

He pulled her close and began dancing with her out of his joy.

“My dear Alice! Have I told you what a sight to behold you are?” He could almost kiss her because of how happy he is.

“Oh you found out!” she replied with a blissful smile before running off to grab a jar that housed a small pixie eating a cupcake. “Aren’t you proud of me sir? I finally managed to perfect that trapping spell you taught me! Her name is Fealione, she’s the little devil that’s been stealing fruits from the market at night!”

“And I would have gotten away with it too” the pixie responded after wiping some cream off her cheek “if it weren’t for you and your baked goods!”

“You can eat more of them if you stay with me Lione.”

“Your tongue is blessed by Fionne herself pink haired one.” Lione said with a bewildered tone while her eyes shined like bright prisms in response.

“I guess that’s a yes.” Alice smiled “Can we keep her master?”

“That’s fantastic and yes, but enough with your parlor tricks my apprentice.” He said as he moved away from her to pack his things frantically. “We must away, grab only your most valued items and we shall be heading off to the Demon’s Cavern!”

“The Demon’s Cavern?! Will we be coming back sir?” her fear was audible and the pixie in her jar also hid her face with her hands. “Why do you need me to come with you, aren’t you capable of doing this on your own?”

“Nonsense Ms. Yong, you need this as part of your training!” he ignored her pleas to continue packing. “As for the shop, we have many memories here together, but our time is now! A grand journey awaits us! We shall sell the emporium post haste!”

“Sell the shop? But sir the emporium is-” Alice protested before she was interrupted with a ‘shush’.

“Who am I my dear?” he asked.

“Minotaurum the Magnanimous, sir.” She answered.

“Good,” He said and went back to packing “the emporium isn’t going away forever my dear, for where ever I go, the emporium follows!”

“Your wisdom truly exceeds my own.” She said as she basked in his words.

“Come, Cast your floaty disk spell and gather our things; we must away! Our time here has ended.”

He said this but this was a ruse. He knew he could not stay here for long, those eight adventurers would soon realize that they had lost a _key_ item in their arsenal. If he wanted to live another day then he must find a way out of Treasure’s Peak and fast; fortunately for him the Demon’s Caverns had exactly what he needed.

However he needed to pass through a very tedious obstacle, the voluptuous lady herself – Lucia Dela Castro.

When you’re charismatic, entertaining, and handy with a sewing kit like the great Minotaurum himself you can find yourself in places of great luxury, but you can also find yourself in situations of dire straits, and owning a shop as popular as Minotaurum’s Emporium you can be sure that any of the leaders of Treasure’s Peaks noble families will not give you up so easily.

But you are not Minotaurum the Magnanimous. 

“Lucia Dela Costa, as I live and breathe!” Minotaurum sang out as much as his lungs could upon barging into her quarters.

“Mino? Is that you?” Lucia was laying in her finely crafted leather sofa that had a soft hand woven cotton cover. “Please do not come near me I am a disaster!”

“But I must behold your beautiful face my lady!” He responded and sauntered into the room with the grace of a peacock. “I could not imagine disrespecting an art piece such as yourself dear Lucia!”

“Oh heavens you known exactly how to cheer a lady up Mino!” She said in between sobs “If only people were more like you my dear. Respectful, understanding, and kind unlike those ingrates from the other families!”

“They simply cannot understand your needs and where you are coming from my dear.” Minotaurum said. “You, my dear, are song bird made to soar the blue skies and bask in the golden light of the sun, they are merely chickens. Jealous and flightless.”

At this the lady laughed and wiped the tears from off her face smearing her make up onto her hand and ruining her meticulously painted face. She stood up to face the man now garbed in blue rather than his usual purple velvet.

“To what do I owe the pleasure Mino?” She said “Doubt that you are here to sorely make my day better?”

“Doubt you should indeed, I am not here for the mending of your ailing heart my but it is a duty that I gladly partake in, my dear.” Minotaurum said as he clasped her hands and tip-toed to give her a kiss on the forehead. “Alas I am here to sorrowfully bid you farewell.”

“You’re leaving?” Her voice rasped at the surprise and held him in her arms. “But why, you’ve done exceedingly well not only a magician in my employ but as a shop owner as well? And what will I do without your wonderful tales and words of comfort?”

“Just as you feel that your life’s calling is to be a lady of elegance and refinement so to must I answer the call for adventure!” Minotaurum gently pushed her away to look out of the beautifully made stained glass window dramatically. “I must apologize Lucia, I had never planned on staying here but your beauty kept me from going. It pains me to say this but I must leave, the world cannot be deprived of Minotaurum the Magnanimous any longer!”

He put his hands behind him as he looked yonder before continuing.

“You must live as you have, be not ashamed of your own skin my dear, you must allow me to be free, and you must learn to continue on without me.” Minotaurum said in a somber tone. “The road calls upon me once again and there people out there that need my aid.”

“What about your business then?!” she shouted in frustration. “You expect me to let one of my most popular entrepreneurs to close down shop?”

“No. You can have all of it now, free of charge. A parting gift.” He said confidently. “Give my lot to new talent, I know a weaver of tremendous talent who has been dying to open her own clothes store. And as for my effects, sell them. Make them limited edition, sell them at exorbitant amounts, give them away for free, or maybe even keep them for yourself to remember me by.”

With that speech he pulls out the deed to the lot of the store, unpins the insignia of House Dela Costa from his coat, and turns to walk away from Lucia.

“Mino wait!” She cried. “You’re a powerful wizard! You must know of something to turn me into a real woman? Please I beg of you grant me this wish.”

“My dear Lucia I resent that! You already are.” Minotaurum said as he placed his palm upon the side of her cheek. “But what makes you think that my departure is in no small part due to your one precious wish?”

“So you will return to us Mino?” She quietly said in awe.

“Of course!” Minotaurum said triumphantly. “I have foreseen it! At Treasure’s Peak’s direst hour, when the sky has cracked open, when all hope is lost, I shall return!”

He would not return.

In fact he could not be happier to be rid of this place. The heat, the bureaucracy, and the long days. Those poorly garbed adventurers who came into his store told him everything he needed to know. They were not of this place, if their wide eyed bewilderment and questioning didn’t tell him this the untanned color of their skin surely did. At first he believed it to be impossible, there was no decent shade for miles outside of Treasure’s Peak or even the Waking Sands, and had they traversed from somewhere else they would have at least looked more worn and sand covered than they did. He had been in Treasure’s Peak since its inception and in ten long years he has scarcely seen any new comers. 

Now with the possible ruled out only the impossible remained and he believed that the answers to his questions lay within the mysteries of the Demon Caverns. The caverns are notorious for one deathly thing: those who enter go mad and have their innards ripped, their eyes torn form its sockets, and their throats clawed out. Obviously he wanted none of these outcomes, however Minotaurum is a gambling man, a fantastic one at that, and in this situation he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.

Upon leaving he is met by Alice and Faelione who were playing a children’s card game whilst they waited and Faelione was winning, somehow.

“Our business here is finished.” Minotaurum said in a somber tone. “Fetch my things, our fates lie eslewhere.”

“Are you alright master?” Alice asked. “You’re crying.”

“I am fine my young apprentice, I am fine.”

This was true in fact he was more than fine, he was crying tears of joy. No more would he have to worry about paying rent, placating an emotional employer, nor would he have to deal with the day to day anxiety of being found out. It is a wonder to him on how far he’s gotten in the past 10 years, how lucky he truly feels for having such a gullible audience, and unimaginably happy that no one has caught up with his lies because he knows deep within his heart that he has run out of luck years ago and he’s been running on fumes since.

Treasure’s Peak was built on an odd mountain. Obscenely large, oddly shaped, and unfathomably warm. It was a mountain that seemed to be tilted on its side and the city was built on that tilt. It was a mountain that defied the laws of physics and was well believed to be the product of magic. With the endless stream of sand falling off the mountain like a waterfall, the 18 hours of day time, the odd shape and stability of the mountain, and the vast unending desert it stood upon – believing that the mountain was made by magic, divine or otherwise, was more sensible and logical than any other more reasonable and logical explanation. Some believe we’ve been sequestered into another realm, some believe the world ended and that we’re all that remain, and some believe that this is divine retribution for sinning against the Traveler the god of change and magic. None of which truly mattered to Minotaurum because to him the most important thing to know was that he was alive and that money still worked. The city itself was made out of three things gold, extortion, and the hard work of artisans and manual laborers and it was controlled by a mysterious figure head who owns not only the guards but also majority of the Peak’s money and resources. Like a dragon sitting atop a hoard of gold. Here on this golden city the rich live, prosper, and abuse answering to no law or authority but their own familial loyalties.

Down by the base of the mountain is the Waking Sands. A settlement and home for any would-be master artisan and shrew entrepreneur all fighting and competing against each other in a fierce battle to get to the top of the mountain. The settlement itself was built to make sure that any artisan could work to the best of their ability. Of course none of the workshops, tools, and homes in the Waking Sands was built or even paid for by the rich nobles of the Peak but they made it work. Minotaurum, being the great and powerful wizard that he is, has never seen this settlement up close, he didn’t even care to look down upon it. To him it was simply there and that he had paid someone from there to finely craft the trinkets and baubles that lined the shelves of his shop in the promise of giving them a shot of earning a wealthy patron. He doesn’t even remember their name, well whoever they are they can have what he’ll be leaving behind.

He was neither going to the Waking ands nor was he going back to his quaint little shop of magic in Treasure’s Peak. He was going into the middle of the mountain, where many caves and hidden passages lie. In the beginning these caves were used for mining many would go in for valuable ores, iron, and coal but now it has been empty and abandoned. They’d mined all they can and deeper in the caves was the infamous Demon’s Cavern, a place deep in the caves where no one dares to venture.

Unless of course you’re Minotaurum the Magnanimous.

“Alright one more check before we go in.” He says to Alice while handing her his backpack.

“On it master!” Alice replies with a salute before taking the pack and opening it.

“Orb?”

“Check!”

“Spell Book?”

“Check!”

“Wand?”

“Check!”

“Back up wand?”

“Check!”

“Third wand?”

“Uhhh Check?”

“Trick question, keep up Alice. Deck of Illusions?”

“Right.” She says with eyes motivated. “Check!”

“Sack of freaky weird things?”

“Right here sir!”

“Jump boots?”

“You’re wearing them sir.”

“Bone dust?”

“Check. Why do you ha-”

“Shhh! No questions. Rod of Magnificence.” He says with an outstretched hand.

“Right where it’s supposed to be master.” She says as she hands him the rod and he grasps it with a tight and determined grip.

“Perfect! Now Lione?” He called to the pixie.

“What is it pointy hat?” Faelione replied.

“If I remember correctly your kind can sense the presence of evil, yes?” He asked.

“Yes.” She replied followed by a long few seconds of silence.

“Well?” Minotaurum turned around and gave Faelione a look. “Are you going to do it?”

“No.”

“Ok.”

Turning away from his merry band Minotaurum looked deep into the entrance of the cavern. Through the eyeholes of his silver domino mask he could see that in there is the foul, unmistakable energies of chaos. _Well points for consistency_ he thought, he then asked Alice to pull out the orb from his pack. With a spectacular flourish of multicolored sparks and bright star like sparkles Minotaurum activated the magic device in his hand. Although truth be told he didn’t need to do all that; a simple funneling of magic into the catalyst would have sufficed. But Minotaurum is many things – a bold adventurer, a charismatic leader, a passionate lover, and an unnecessarily dramatic actor. With the orb’s activation a sphere enveloped them, to the others it seemed like an unnecessary dome of blue energy, but Minotaurum could see, clear as day, that the foul energies this cavern emitted clashed upon its azure sheen like waves against stone.

The putrid miasma of twisted ether flowed around him and his compatriots as they entered, the current of magic twisted and turned around them as if they were walking through a tornado, the only difference is that a tornado didn’t smell of rotting flesh, iron, and oddly enough paint. However this was not his first visit to the Demon’s Caverns and this phenomenon was not a stranger to him. However the undead were.

“M-master!” Alice stuttered at the sight of the walking dead. This however was not some random walking corpse, Minotaurum had recognized it – or rather _them_. These were the bodies of the first few miners who attempted to enter the Caverns, he had seen them before but they were still and lifeless. It seems that during their time here unburied and untended had left them restless and now they rose seeking sanctuary where none could be found. Tragic. Could he have taken these bodies out of these cursed caves during his first journey here? Yes, but it was unbecoming for a person as great and renowned as Minotaurum the Magnanimous. The drudgery of corpse retrieval was an activity for priests, commoners, and fools not wizards so rather than carry several bodies back to their families Minotaurum told them their loved ones were disintegrated.

 _“Naught but dust and ash were left”_ he cried to them _“and I cannot enter anymore! For my powers, while great, have mortal limits!”_ and they all believed it because Minotaurum the Magnanimous would never lie to them – well that and none of them could counter his claims without subsequently exploding themselves.

“Do not worry my intrepid apprentice.” Minotaurum said with great confidence. “Hand me my bone dust.”

Despite the shakiness of her hands Alice quickly grabbed the bag of bone dust and handed it over to Minotaurum without question. Dipping his fingers into the bag he whispered a few magic words and then threw the bone dust into the air above them with a flourish of golden sparkles. Unnecessary. When the dust fell upon them the undead that slowly lumbered towards them stopped and turned away.

“Master that was amazing!” Alice beamed with excitement. “How on earth did you do that?”

“A wizard never reveals their secrets my beautiful apprentice!” He replied with a similar excitement, for he did not actually know that it would work. “One day, when you become almost as great as I, you may learn to control the very matter around you and yes even death.”

“I shall study harder now than ever before master!” Alice replied with great respect. “Your tutelage is most appreciated!”

“Hey, you, ugly one.” Faelione whispered. “There wasn’t a single drop of magic in there.”

“What do you mean my dusty friend?” Minotaurum replied. “You see how they leave us from our course?”

“Not your friend.” She answered.

“Ok.”

“Well I suppose Minotaurum the Magnanimous has a gentle heart” she began “for a good and _quiet_ girl like myself.”

“You suppose correctly!” He answered with his usual flair and candor. “What can I offer you? You beautiful scoundrel you!” She then gestures to him to lean in.

“20 gold and I keep my mouth shut pointy man.” She whispered. “Every day.”

“10.”

“19.”

“15.”

“17 and you give me half the sweets she makes for you.” She demanded.

“Deal.” He whispered and held out his finger for her to shake. “But actually I’m the one who makes them, she’s a terrible cook.”

“Really!” She jumped “I wouldn’t have thought.”

“What are you two talking about?” Alice chimed in.

“Just uh, how wonderful friends we all are!” Minotaurum replied.

“Yes, yes good friends, the three of us!” Faelione nodded.

“Wonderful!” She smiled brightly. “Once we find a new home to settle in I’ll make us more cupcakes!”

“We’re making sure she doesn’t notice we’re helping yes?” Faelione whispered to Minotaurum.

“Yes.” He answered.

The Demon’s Caverns was a sizable labyrinth, it was no great lich tomb, or a dungeon devised by a mad mage but it was of a substantial size and if the orb he was using wasn’t there the twisted magic in this cave would have torn them apart by now. The path ways twisted and turned but fortunately for Minotaurum he still remembered the way and within a matter of minutes (and a few more undead here and there) they had reached their destination.

The room they had entered was unlike the rest of the cavern. It had walls, tiles, pillars, and an altar where a smiling gourd with a lock sat quietly while oozing the vile energies that fill the caves. To his left and right were two great stone doors that were locked, the key to which must have been lost to time already. The answer to this 10 year-long mystery now lay within his grasp. Literally. He did not know what was behind those doors, he didn’t know if the freedom he sought was there, nor did he know if there was anything valuable waiting for him. All he knew was that this gamble was worth throwing away the fragile life he just left behind. But in case he really did need to come back he needed something valuable and usually most locked things are keeping something worth hiding.

Following his lead the three of them went closer to the gourd, Minotaurum then pulled out the skeleton-like silver key and watched it as the key twisted and changed to fit the key hole, its solid form turned liquid like mercury at the moment it reached the surface of the lock.

“Hey dumb of ass?” Faelione whispered.

“Yes smooth of brain?” Minotaurum asked.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“No.”

“Ok.”

Once the key had decided on a form Minotaurum slid the key in and twisted it. The lock popped and dropped onto the surface of the altar. There was a lull in the air, a quiet even quieter than before, and once the calm had passed he began to see the miasmic ether slink back into the gourd as if it were an octopus in a shell retracting its tentacles. The air flowed quickly toward the gourd and even in their sphere of protection they could feel its forceful pull drag them closer to the altar but before they could be pulled further the gourd stopped and the caverns were now free of the miasma’s influence.

 _At least they’ll think I’m a hero for clearing the Demon’s Caverns._ He thought.

But then it shook.

Slowly at first, giving one or two shakes as if it were testing the waters, but then it grew more violent, more frequent, and finally it unleashed its long forgotten prisoner. From the mouth of the gourd this mist of vile colors twisted, merged, and formed an odd creature. A demon had emerged wearing a motley outfit with a bright long coat of reds and yellows, it brandished a twisted painted skull face, its eyes shone a prism of changing colors, and its hair was a mane of fiery red that flowed upon its shoulders like a waterfall of fire and smoke.

“Dhskvn!” It shouted and its twisted voice echoed throughout the cave and its mouth did not move as it spoke. “You rue the day y-. Well what do we have here? You’re not Dhskvn and you look too weak to be his disciples.”

“Greetings,” Minotaurum cleared his throat “demon.”

“Ah you must be the ones who freed me from my captivity?” the demon laughed. “And to who do I give my thanks to?”

“I am Minotaurum the Ma-” His introduction was cut short by a surge of magical energies focused upon him, had his orb not been there to protect him he and his companions would have surely been vaporized. “What was that!?”

“Ugh. Rude!” The Jester shouted at him and began to laugh “I give you the courtesy of a quick death and you reject it? The absolute nerve!”

“Now wait just a minute!” Minotaurum fumed “We free you and this is the thanks we get?”

“Aha! You don’t seem to understand do you, Minotaurum the Meager?” It began its incessant laughter once again. “I am Foulcoir the Death Jester from the Masque of Harrowing Circus and do you know what a Death Jester does?”

“Death?” Alice swallowed her words.

“No, party favors. Yes death!” Foulcoir jested “I have spent gods know how much time in that muse forsaken gourd that I deserve a good laugh. So dance for me, monkey.”

“Well clearly you can’t kill us!” Minotaurum proclaimed. “I surmise if you could you would have done so already with that blast!”

“You’re right. Farewell to you wretched things, I’ve a prank victim to find.” And with that the she-demon vanished without a trace leaving the three of them some time to catch their breath.

“Well. That certainly was something.” Lione chimed in.

“That could have gone worse.” Minotaurum said. “But nothing is impossible for one such as I, Minotaurum the-”

“Puppetsayswhat?”

“What?” Alice asked and as she looked around looking for the disembodied voice she shrieked upon seeing the jester’s twisted face looking up at her from the floor with a grim twisted smile. Alice jumped in her surprise and left Minotaurum’s sphere of protection. Before he could even react to get her back into the sphere the Demon leapt from the ground like a ragdoll and slid inside Alice.

Her body shook and convulsed as the demon possessed her body, she then floated into the air as if she was drowning under water her hair flew and flowed upward in a similar fashion, and then her eyes lit up in several colors as an odious purple flame emerged from around her. Her extremities bent and cracked into odd positions as her willpower attempted to expunge the warp-spawn from her system, a voice that didn’t sound like her at all howled in pain, and then finally her body dropped onto the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut.

“Alice?” Minotaurum approached the mangled body. “My dear?”

“Curiouser and Curiouser.” Alice’s voice mixed with Foulcoir’s twisted sound, creating an eerie and disturbing auditory mix. She then flew into the air and with a snap of her fingers six fiery orbs came to and orbited around her like a wheel as she danced in the air.

“This is your _‘apprentice’_?” the demon asked. “Her talents are wasted upon your Minotaurum the Moron! You’re a bigger fool than I and I’m literally a clown!”

“Lione?” Minotaurum said.

“Yes, languid one?” she replied.

“Do you value your life?” he asked in a bewildered monotone voice.

“Quite.”

“Run.”

Minotaurum turned his tail and ran as fast as he could while Faelione kept up. Arcs of lightning and curved, snapped, and bent to strike at them while balls of fire splashed upon the blue sheen of the sphere. The orb was still recovering from the initial ray of death Foulcoir had fired at him earlier, but it was cracking and it won’t take long until it breaks. Minotaurum was many things, a loveable rogue, a dashing liar, a charming fraud, but he is Minotaurum the Magnanimous – well not really. He was never raised by Minotaurs, he was never a master wizard, nor was he even capable of casting any spell above an elementary level of magic. The spell book he owned? It was never his. The spells that he cast? Magic items he stole and pilfered from unwitting audiences or copses in graves. He was the apprentice to a true master enchanter; he stole her book of spells and trinkets upon her death bed, hoping that one day he could study its secrets – but it never came to be. He was not Minotaurum the Magnanimous, he did not have a Minotaur’s spirit, and he was not made for combat or adventure. He was D’ndra Solvo a thief and he was lucky enough to have last this long. For the majority of his life he had not been in a situation where he couldn’t talk his way out of things, he had gone up against angry mobs, warriors, and other things that wanted him dead he had even called them demons themselves but for once Minotaurum was facing the genuine article.

In summary he was nothing but a petty thief.

But a great petty thief at that.

A plan had formed in his mind and Minotaurum bravely turned to face the demon that wore the skin of his apprentice and held out his rod.

“Great demon!” he announced, she hovered in place in surprise for she did not expect him to be this foolish. “Prepare to be defeated by Minotaurum-”

As he spoke his Rod of Magnificence began to light up various colors changing from vibrant hues to dark shades and as he spoke the final words of his title “The Magnanimous!” the lights stopped at the color of a pale yellow. There was a moment of silence as Foulcoir was just as bewildered and confused as Minotaurum. Did he have a secret weapon to banish her? She wondered. Meanwhile Minotaurum stood there doing his best to seem confident and steadfast when in reality he was about to need a pair of brown pants.

The suspense drew and then finally the crystal icosahedron opened and out of it was a pair of knickers. Suddenly whatever planned that had formed in his mind went up in smoke as quickly as he thought of it.

“Pervert.” Faelione said.

“Agreed,” Said Foulcoir “a time and a place for such indecencies please, Minotaurum the Molester.”

Flustered he handed the undergarments to Faelione and said “I had no such intentions demon! And you Pixie! You are not helping at all!”

“That was a disgusting display I think I-” Foulcoir began gagging as if she were about to vomit.

“You alright?” Minotaurum asked.

“Yes it’s just ugh I think she ate something-” Foulcoir said, but before she could continue she vomited a sulfuric gas cloud that filled the cave and swerved all around them. Within seconds they were enveloped by this yellow mist and Minotaurum knew what was going to happen.

“Shit, Lione she’s going to blow us up!” Minotaurum dropped his usual decorum in a panic and grabbed on to the pixie. “You can turn invisible right?”

“Yes.” Lione said in a monotone voice “We’re dead aren’t we?” 

“Listen here you sentient nightlight we don’t have much time. Go invisible, take this deck and this weird sack, when this sphere breaks start throwing cards and split up. Oh and only use the sack in case of emergencies!” Minotaurum said in a hurry while handing the pixie a set of playing cards that was almost as big as her. “I need you to do everything you can to distract her for as long as you can now quickly get my backup wand!” 

With that the pixie grabbed his back up wand and with a swift decisive motion Minotarum used the Wand of Far Winds to redirect the current of the cloud away from the two of them and behind them at the last second. The explosion blasted and sealed their way back out and sent a dust cloud that blinded all of them, and the resulting blast broke the sphere that protected them as well as the orb itself; there was no turning back now. Whatever plan Minotaurum had hatched better work or he would perish here. Soon the dust subsided and Foulcoir looked upon it with glee, she wanted to see an artistically splattered corpse, perhaps even a comical disembodiment, but she would not get either of these. Instead of dead bodies, well there were dead bodies but not the ones she had wanted, and four armored guards and a knight.

“Have at ye scoundrel!” The knight charged at her and the four guards followed. Wordlessly they stabbed at the demon to and fro and she ducked and weaved as blades danced in the caves’ darkness leaving nothing but sparks as blade clashed upon blade. Growing tired of this, Foulcoir flew as high as she could above the range of their swords and charged a great fire to hurl down upon the five unfortunate souls that stood in her way. The air filled with smoke and mage fire, the ground stained black by the blast, and yet there they stood undisturbed and unhurt. Foulcoir flew down to face these aggressors, they raised their guard against her, and moved slowly backward to anticipate her movements. Foulcoir conjured a rapier of starlight and plunged the blade down the creature’s throat.

She had expected this material monkey to convulse and spasm as its life bled away but that didn’t happen – instead the blade passed through the creature like a stone dropped in a pond. As she pulled back her blade she noticed a card beneath a debris of ash and rubble, untouched and unburnt it was the King of Hearts. The knight attack her once more but now that she knows what manner of trickery this is she was undisturbed as blades passed through her body like thin air. She picked up the card and crushed it in her hand, the moment she did that the illusions dissipated. 

“Parlor tricks? You’ll beat me with parlor tricks!?” The Jester bellowed forth a grim twisted laugh. The eerie sound she made was frightening and yet oddly infectious “By the muses this is going to be exhausting.”

Foulcoir leapt and ran throughout the labyrinth looking for Minotaurum and his sparkling companion only to be besieged by a whole host of creatures every turn she took. A turn here and suddenly a group of bandits, a turn there and out comes a red dragon, enter a room – beholder, leave the room and then there’s a lich out of nowhere! Not only that, the undead have seemed to have found their mark, without the aid of Minotaurum’s bone dust, the living dead now found their new meal in Foulcoir – or rather Alice. She made a mad dance as she went, using Alice’s magically attuned body to release a torrent of elemental destruction at her wake, burning and blasting not only the dead but the cards that animated the illusions. She was thoroughly enjoying herself.

“Truly nothing invigorates a newly awakened death jester more than some gore!” She flaunted as her dance decapitated, gorged, and maimed several of the walking dead. “But I tire of these unfeeling abominations, where’s the pain, the hatred, the pleasure of death!”

“What if I told you that if you let us live I can lead you to a place where you can murder and disembowel to your heart’s content?” Minotaurum’s disembodied voice echoed throughout the caverns. “Surely that is a better deal, no?”

“Is this all you can do Mino-tedium?” The Jester sighed. “Parlor tricks and bargains, what happened to your bravado!?”

“My bravado is felt!” Minotaurum replied unseen “Not seen.”

“Trust me I don’t think anyone wants to see or feel your _Bravado_.”

“You wound me with your cold heart Foulcoir.”

“Well then come out.” She said as she conjured a ball of mage fire in her hand “I wish to keep you warm forever!”

“A grand gesture I’m sure.” Minotaurum replied. “But don’t come crying to me once you regret not taking my offer.”

“I’ve only known you for less than five minutes and I can tell no one regrets that.”

“What is this? A roast!?” Minotaurum exclaimed.

“No. This is.” Foulcoir raises her finger and sends a scorching ray of fire down a corridor. The ray collides with a stone and cuts through it like a hot knife through butter, lava pours out of the cut as if the stone itself was bleeding and from behind it was Minotaurum.

Minotaurum ducked and jumped from the torrent of elemental magic that Foulcoir had cast, running away from each blast like a chicken with no head. Each exit he leapt towards and each passage he turned to was blocked by a variety of beams, explosions, and he was beginning to laugh. This was not a good sign. His uncontrollable laughter made him sluggish and weak, it made breathing painful, and it made thinking hard to accomplish. Minotaurum then made a turn without thought or hesitation, only to find out he had ended up back into the room where they first found the accursed smiling gourd. Before he could rectify this choice Foulcoir was already upon him, he was cornered.

“You know.” Minotaurum attempted to speak as he caught his breath and held is laughter. “For a clown you’re not very funny.”

“And yet here you are. Laughing.” Foulcoir mocked “But I promise it won’t be for long now.”

She dropped her conjured sword and it flickered in the air before vanishing into the ether, she raised her hand and created a blade of magic around her fingertips, and then plunged it deep into his heart hoping to tear it from his ribcage. She wanted to savor every expression upon his gaunt face as she squeezed the life out of him, wanting to see what face he would make when her fingers wrapped around his heart, how he would implode and defecate as the pain grew unbearable.

Unfortunately for her that did not happen. Instead her hand passed through him with no blood, no gore, no pain, and not even a hint of contact. Another fake. She raged at the image and as she threw her hand in a fit of anger her hand brushed upon something tiny. Foulcoir grabbed at it before it could move away and squeezed; yelping in pain Faelione had revealed herself and in her arms a joker card. She took the card from out of her grasp and with a snap she burnt it leaving nothing but embers in the wind, with that the illusion of Minotaurum disappeared like the card itself.

“Tell me where your friend is” Foulcoir threatened “and I’ll make this painless for you.”

“Not” Faelione tried to speak “My friend.”

“Tell me you wretched firefly!” she demanded.

Faelione pointed at a wall that created an optical illusion that made it look like there was no passage behind it from almost every angle. Noticing this the jester smiled, her grin almost tearing Alice’s cheeks apart.

“Let me go!” Faelione demanded. “I told you where he is!”

“And watch you run circles around me again?” Foulcoir laughed “I’m saving you for last pipsqueak!”

In her struggle to get free the noose she tied around her waist loosened and the sack that Minotaurum gave her came undone. But she needed to nudge it further. She struggled and squirmed in her hand like a fish caught in a line. She kicked and screamed in her grasp, she bit her fingers and clawed at her skin until finally – Foulcoir got annoyed.

“I know you’re trying not to die today,” The jester began “but can you be a little less annoying about it!”

Faelione continued to struggle, her face turning red as she kept kicking at the sack to make it fall from her waist.

“Is this what you’re trying to get?” Foulcoir tore the sack from her waist and pulled it up close to her face before slamming it into the ground. “No more games, no more tricks, and no more goofs!”

Faelione wasn’t listening to her twisted voice at all and continued to struggle. She tossed and turned in her hand even more so and then stopped.

“I have had up to here with you and your friend now!” She yelled. “You’ve been caught, you put up a good fight, and now you’re going to die; simple as! There’s something behind me isn’t there?”

As she said that a giant octopus thrashed about the room throwing both of them to the ground and freeing Faelione. Taking this opportunity Faelione turned invisible and rushed to where Minotaurum had been hiding this whole time.

“I don’t think I can keep her occupied anymore.” Faelione said as she struggled between laughs. “She knows where you are and I can’t stop laughing!”

“You ratted me out didn’t you!? And don’t touch me. The laughter might be infectious.” Minotaurum said as he applied the finishing touches to his plan. “Not to worry my unfortunately brightly lit companion. I’m almost finished.”

“What are you doing anyway!?” Faelione asked in a panic.

“A surprise!” Minotaurum replied

“Whatever it is it looks shoddy.”

“I’ll work.” He said as he focused on his trick. “It better.”

“I hope!” Faelione exclaimed. “Cause that thing won’t hold her for long!”

As Foulcoir tried go get up the creature grabbed her from the waist and started thrashing about. Her body was thrown around and smacked by the creature’s powerful grasp, but she could not have that, this body was powerful the magic she naturally controlled wasn’t the most impressive of course but with a few years or practice she could be a natural disaster. Ending this encounter Foulcoir raised her finger and pointed at the creature and with a few words of twisted power the octopus was paralyzed, allowing Foulcoir her freedom.

“I’ll deal with you later.” Foulcoir said “I’ve more pressing matters to murder.”

“Oh Mino-trash!” Foulcoir sang as she walked into the corridor, she could see him there in the hidden room at the end of the corridor, sitting on a table. As she entered she noticed a magic circle on the floor. She continued to taunt him as she walked around the circle “Really? You think I would fall for this, like I would just walk in here and get trapped?”

“No.” Minotaurum said. “I’ve given up. You’ve won.”

“Nice try.” Foulcoir smiled at him and reached into his belly, once again her hand slipped through the illusory body and she pulled out another joker card. “I’ve seen this trick one too many times.”

As she crumpled the card the illusion disappeared and in its place was something else. A small magic circle drawn with chalk, a pearl, an owl feather, and an odd looking key. Foulcoir gave the display a curious and puzzled stare and looked closer. From somewhere in the room Minotaurum chanted the words for the identify spell and just like before the spell backfired on the key and exploded. The resulting combustion singed her face and eyebrows, causing her to fall backward into the magic circle – trapping her.

“Aha! Minotaurum wins again!” He said as he tore off his cloak of invisibility revealing that he and Faelione were in the corner of the room the whole time. “A clever display of wit if I don’t say so myself, my pallid friend.”

“Not your friend.” She replied.

“Ok.” He said. “But you cannot deny that I had you in the palm of my hand. I told you that I would defeat you jester and so I have!”

In response Foulcoir attempted to charge at him, cut his throat, or pull his hair and nails but it seemed as if an invisible wall of force separated the two of them.

“When I get out of here I will-” She threatened.

“If” he corrected. “Mark this day demon for this is the day that you were bested by Minotaurum-”

As he turned he called forth a torrent of small fireworks behind him to add flair. Minotaurum was many things, a cunning magician, a brilliant strategist, a handsome fellow, but he was no wizard – he was a fledgling wizard and it showed. His shoddy and poorly constructed magic circle would not hold the demon for too long and as he spoke those fabled words “-The Magnanimous!” the circle broke.

“And now you’re Minotaurum the Mince-meat!” Foulcoir said as she broke free from her prison. In a quick succession of events Faelione turned invisible and flew away, Foulcoir conjured another rapier to skewer Minotaurum, and he screamed with a pitch he didn’t know he had. Through pure instinct, or dumb luck, Minotaurum closed his eyes, covered his face with his arm, and pointed out his Rod of Magnificence at the Death Jester. When he opened his eyes Alice fell unconscious into his arms, and in his hand the rod glowed with another crescendo of colors within its crystal when the colors faded it revealed a twisted face.

“Didn’t know you could do that.” Minotaurum stood there bewildered by the turn of events, his heart was beyond happy and his pants were understandably stained. “I’m alive.”

“I’m alive!” his shout echoed through the caves.

“We’re alive?” Faelione asked from behind a rock.

“We’re alive!” Minotaurum replied before taking her hand and danced.

After celebrating their victory over a vision of death itself Faelione had begun to heal Alice. Her healing magic wasn’t potent enough for her to fully recover from her injuries and if it were not for Foulcoir who kept her body safe from harm she would have died then and there. But with enough time, rest, and medicine Alice would be right as rain once more. It wouldn’t take long for Alice to wake up and when she did she spotted Faelione tending to her as well as Minotaurum with a worried look in his face and a pair of trousers that didn’t match his shirt or his cape.

“Lione? Master?” She asked groggily “What happened.”

“Demon.” The two of them said in unison.

“Oh right!” She tried to get up and winced at the pain.

“Slow down there missy.” Minotaurum said. “We don’t want your wounds opening up.”

“I’m so happy you’re both safe.” She smiled and slowly tilted her head back onto a makeshift pillow made out of her own spare clothes. “Where’s the demon, did you defeat it?”

“I did Alice.” Minotaurum said “For nothing is impossible for Minotaurum the Magnanimous, and his friends. As for that foul jester, I have trapped her in my Rod of Magnificence.”

“Could it do that before?” she asked.

“No.” Minotaurum said. “But it seems I’m not the only one here that has much to learn.”

“Fantastic master!” She said as she clapped for him. “Absolutely fantastic! What are we to do with it?”

“I was going to ask you my dear.” Minotaurum said “The trapping spell I taught you, will you do it for me?”

“Of course.” She agreed “But why not do it yourself master?”

“I would but I want you to do the honors.” He said “My dear apprentice.”

“Of course!” her eyes beamed with excitement. “I won’t fail you master! I do have one question though.”

“Anything for you my dear.”

“What did you do to me and where are my knickers?” She said as her eyes changed from excitement to disgust.

After a few short moments and one gruelingly awkward explanation later Alice had completed the circle (despite her own injuries). Her more intricate and elegant design was a far cry from whatever chicken scratching Minotaurum had placed on the ground earlier. The difference between the two of them was not even the sun and the moon but of the earth and the stars themselves. _I can do that too, given more time._ He thought to himself but he knew the truth, he was no master however he will continue to be, for her. Which is a full proof thought process that surely won’t bite him in the ass sometime in the future.

“I’m proud of you my dear.” Minotaurum said as he patted her back for her work. “I would be truly lost without you.”

She chuckled in her glee before responding “And I you master.”

With that Minotaurum opened the crystal icosahedron within the confines of the magic circle. A colorful motley patterned smoke oozed out slowly from the rod; it smelled of paint, plastic, and party favors. Once all of the smoke left the rod Foulcoir once again formed into being as the twisted Death Jester they had seen before.

“Bravo! Bravo! Minotaurum” She said. “You have bested me, now release me, and this time I promise not to boil you alive and tan your skin into boots!”

“Ha! That might just be the funniest thing you’ve said all day!” Minotaurum laughed. “You’re in no place to negotiate my friend.”

“Well friend good luck dealing with the giant octopus in your way.” Foulcoir laughed.

Minotaurum and co. looked out of the hidden corridor and spot the octopus still stuck and unmoving. “You mean the paralyzed one?” Faelione said and laughed.

“No.” Foulcoir replied and snapped her fingers. Immediately after the octopus began to thrash and turn once more, and now it was heading for them. “That one.”

“Moronic one.” Faelione said.

“Yes, luminescent one?” Minotaurum replied.

“You’re not seriously considering this are you?”

After much debate and octopus blood they had finally left Treasure’s Peak behind them. Behind the altar were they found Foulcoir was a door, not just any door, but a door that seemed perfectly out of place? The Demon’s Caverns looked to be like a well-designed dungeon labyrinth for those evil types who liked to trap adventurers in a death game but this door, it was a simple wooden door. No intricate carvings, no fine material in its creation, and no signs of it being anything else than a regular door that one could find in any commoner household. With the use of his newly acquired skeleton key, Minotaurum was able to open this anticlimactic simple door, and through it was a land of green grass, cold winds, and tall trees. He had done it.

He and his companions all rushed out of that stuffy death filled cave and into, what seemed to be, the land of milk and honey itself. Never has he been so happy to finally see a sunset at five in the afternoon. When he and the others looked out beyond the cliff face they saw a quaint and cozy town of simple hard working folk the only oddity there seemed to be to this place was that there was a long caravan of pilgrims that went to somewhere he could not see. But this didn’t matter to him for he could start again without having to worry about being caught. _Oh right, being caught_ he thought, and as quickly as he thought of that he rush towards the door and shut it behind him. He leaned back on it and slid down on to the floor with a sigh of relief before the door vanished, letting him fall back onto the soft grass covered soil.

“Freedom. Grass. The Cold!” Minotaurum said. “I’m so happy I could die!”

“Please don’t master.” Alice laughed “You still need to take me to a physician.”

“Oh god’s good earth I am the happiest man alive right now.” Minotaurum continued and looked to his side. “You have held your end of the bargain, you may leave us now, Foulcoir.”

“See if only you had that attitude about dying earlier we wouldn’t have had to go through all that. Now would we?" Foulcoir mocked. “But a deal is a deal. Pray you never see me again, filthy materials.”

With that Foulcoir held out her hand into the air and then again, and again, and again. She grunted, wince, and panted as her magic failed her at this time of departure.

“Having trouble getting it out?” Minotaurum said. “I heard plums help with that.”

“Hilarious Mino-taint, seems I can’t make a portal to the Astral Plane. Odd” Foulcoir looked confused. “Well I suppose you’re stuck with me now.”

“What?!” the trio exploded simultaneously

“Why!?” Alice asked in disbelief.

However before they could even process this change or even before they could debate about this a disembodied voice let herself be heard.

“Um hello?” the voice called out “Is anybody there?”

The four of them looked to where the voice was coming from. Fealione hid behind Alice, Foulcoir raised her weapon, Alice gently gestured to Foulcoir to put them down, and Minotaurum pushed away the branches that hid this person.

“Help me please.” In front of them was a barely clothed pale woman with white hair, her skin was patched and full of stitches as if she were an old doll, and her eyes were empty sockets they seemed to look directly at them. “I’m cold and hungry sir.”

Not a second longer Alice jumped to her aid. She took off her cape and draped it around her before she took her water skin and offered it to her.

“Slowly now. You’re safe with us. Relatively at least.” Alice said. “Master we need to help her.”

“Nonsense Alice, we have our own problems.” He replied harshly “We’ll leave her with food and clothes. She can figure out the rest for herself. Come along now Alice.”

“But master please!” Alice nervously turned back and forth between the woman and her master before continuing. “What’s your name my lady? What happened to you?”

“My name is Imara. Imara Vos Isellic.” She replied. “And I don’t know what happened to me.”

The very moment he heard that name he stopped in place and a plan formed in Minotaurum’s mind.

Now his next big scheme had just begun.

**Author's Note:**

> Like what you see? Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FinockWrites


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